Never The Same
by Haruka-Chan 212
Summary: During the pouring rain Haruka wrecks her car. From that day on she's never the same. Please R&R. Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

**_Newest production of Jen's mind...This came flooding out while listening to Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus...yes...that song sparked yet another story. :D I hope you enjoy, just remember, I don't own anything, just the story plot._**

**_And as always, don't forget to review ;)_**

**_Sorry about the length of this chapter, it's meant to be a bit of the background for the rest of the story. The length will improve...by a lot..I've got a lot running through my mind for this story._**

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Never The Same

Chapter 1

_We were married for seven years before it happened. It was pouring down rain that evening. It was a night that we should have been curled up together, alone, watching movies. I can't remember now why she had been out that late. Most likely a meeting with her racing managers or something. I told her to be careful on her way home. The road she always took from the track was full of hills and curves. Whenever it rained water would get trapped on most of those turns._

_I was snuggled up on the sofa. I had a fleece blanket wrapped tightly around my shoulders, waiting for her to get home. I think I was even in and out of sleep. Then the phone rang._

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Tenou?"

I frowned, not recognizing the voice on the other end. I knew all of Haruka's managers and we were all on a first name basis. "Yes...This is her."

"Mrs. Tenou, I'm officer Kimura with the Tokyo Police Department...I've got some bad news regarding your wife, Haruka."

The only other part of the phone call I heard was what hospital my Ruka was in. I struggled to pull on my jacket as I ran from the house. I don't remember the 20 minute drive from our home to the hospital, it was probably pure adrenaline leading me. The inner need to be with Haruka must have been what got me to her.

The image of her in that bed, I fear, will always be plastered in my mind. There were bandages covering ninety percent of her face. It looked like an oxygen tube was attached to her nose. My heart leapt into my throat as I looked at her. She looked so...helpless. So peaceful. From what it looked like, she was asleep. Unconscious maybe.

"Mrs. Tenou?" I jumped at the sudden appearance of a male voice behind me. I couldn't find a voice to speak. I was able to nod my head to him. "Haruka hydroplaned and slid off the road." I bite my lip as I listened. "She's very lucky her injuries aren't any worse."

"How bad?" Any injury to her is bad. I just wished at some point she'd never have to drive again. No matter how much I lectured her, she never slowed down as she traveled. Especially in inclement weather. I told her over and over again to save it for the race track.

I shook my head as he spoke again. "Two cracked ribs and severe head trauma. She's still unconscious now."

"What kind...of serious head trauma?"

"Cracked skull, she flew through the windshield. She's lucky she didn't break her neck. The office said she was 10 feet away from the car."

She never listened to me about wearing her safety belt. If she wasn't so injured right now I'd strangle her with the remains of the one from her car. "Is she going to be alright though?" I clutched the jacket closer to my body as I looked in on her motionless body.

"She'll have to remain here to be monitored for a few more days. Just to make sure there's no brain damage."

_She spent six days in that hospital room. I spent each of those days with her. At first she didn't remember anything from the wreck. She even had a hard time remembering who I was. The first day she stared blankly at me. She had to ask four times what my name was._

_The doctor told her she wasn't allowed to drive until she finished her physical therapy. The therapy was to make sure she didn't lose any motor skills from the head trauma._

_It all went by smoothly. She had all of her mobility, just as I had prayed for. The day she was cleared to drive again was also the first time we had traveled down that road where her wreck was._

_There was something wrong though. Most people at least have some kind of reaction when they pass the spot where something traumatic happened. I reacted more than she did. She just looked at me funny and asked why I was so paralyzed with fear. Even after I explained it to her, she looked like she didn't understand. I even pointed out the guard rail that she went through. The city still, at that time, had not fixed it. It was a tangled mess of metal. Metal that should have kept her from going so far off the road._

_Something in her mind was blocking everything out. She was...never the same after that..._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Told you this chapter would be a little bit longer. :) Oh, and just like it says on my profile....**_

_**10-25-09: Current weight - 290lbs (131.5 kg for those outside the US)**_

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Never The Same

Chapter 2

_She fell back into a habit that I had helped pull her from. It was as if she never stopped. Felt as though she forgot that she even stopped._

I cringed as I heard the snap of another beer can being opened. It's been three years since I got her to stop. "How many have you had Haruka?" My voice was cold, shallow even.

She looked at me. "Why does it matter how many I've had?" I closed my eyes as she lifted the silver can to her mouth again. I couldn't watch her drink it. "You always tried to take away my one method of relaxation. You're not doing it this time Michi, so why don't you just back off."

"There are other ways to relax other then drowning your sorrows." I fought back. Her short fuse never scared me. Most people took a step back when her anger boiled over. I knew what she was capable of.

"Oh? I can't sit and read a book like you do Michiru." She slammed the now empty can on the coffee table in front of me. "You know damned well I have no cartilage left in my knee so I can't run anymore either."

"I tried to teach you how to swim Ruka. You never had the courage to get in the water with me." I didn't back down. I knew it was the beer talking, not her. If I had counted correctly, she just finished her fourth one.

"Yes I did try! You were never available when I was ready to learn!"

I turned my head away from her as she leaned closer. I felt her place both hands on either side of my head. The sofa behind my gave under the extra weight when she pressed closer to me. "You were always ready just as I was leaving for a show, or a meeting. It was like you always timed it just right, so you would never get to learn." I said through clenched teeth. The alcohol smell on her breath was starting to turn my stomach.

"Look at me!" My whole body froze as she grabbed my jaw and forced my head to turn. "You look like a deer in the headlights Michiru." My eyes widened slightly as I stared into hers.

"You're hurting me..." I tried to squirm away, yet her grip only tightened. "Ruka, baby, please. You're scaring me." She was. She never put her hands on me in a fit of her rage before.

Her eyes were cold and distant as she stared down at me. "You're not worth it." She pushed my head away and stumbled back into the kitchen. The refrigerator door was slammed shut. Soon after the crack of an opening can rang through my ears. Then she slammed the door to the patio.

Tears came to my eyes as I reached up to gently touch my jaw. It was tender. No doubt it'll bruise by the morning. And just like always, she won't remember a thing she said to me. I'm hoping she remembers grabbing me though...

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"Haruka are you coming to bed?" I was suddenly afraid to talk to her. Afraid of how she would react.

It was as if I was talking to a totally different person. "I thought you'd never ask." I forced myself to smile as I watched her pick up the three empty cans from the patio table. "What happened to your jaw?" She reached out to touch it.

I couldn't hold back my sharp intake of breath. "You...you don't remember?" Of course she didn't.

"No, what happened?" She threw her cans into the garbage bin. It sounded like she was starting to sober up.

I still had no way of knowing how she would react if I told her now. "Don't worry about it. Just come to bed with me." I smirked and led her upstairs. "Behave Ruka!" I had to scold her when I felt the bottom of my robe being tugged on.

"But I don't want to." She pressed me to the wall outside our room. I returned her kiss. Alcohol still lingered on her breath and in her mouth.

How could I deny her? She could spend all day yelling at me, yet at the end of the day she still found me attractive and reminded me of how much she truly loved me.

_We made love until the sun came up. I cringe as I remember it. It was a night that I wasn't particularly fond of. She was rough with me. Even after I told her I wasn't in the mood for sex that rough._

_Since her wreck she had turned into a monster. A monster that I found hard to be around. The day after I couldn't even bring myself to look at her. Everything about her was cold and distant. _

_Each morning she looked at me like she had never seen me before. One morning she even screamed at me to get out of her bed, that she didn't know who I was. I wish I had known what was wrong then. I remember spending an hour that morning explaining that we were married. I think she eventually got tired of listening to me and just agreed with me. Even now she looks at me strangely. I miss the old you Haruka. Why did you have to have that wreck?

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**_And tell me folks...are we confused yet? -Smirk- good. If you haven't figured it out yet, the italic at the beginning and end of the chapter is modern day...everything in the middle is Michiru's memory. If you haven't figured that out yet, I'm sure it makes a hell of a lot more sense now._**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Just like it says on my profile....**_

_**10-28-09: Current weight - 289lbs (131 kg for those outside the US)**_

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Never The Same

Chapter 3

_I had thought her anger was just a result of her drinking. Oh how wrong I was._

"I'm so proud of you for winning honey." I wrapped my arms loosely around her neck and looked up into her eyes.

"I'm surprised you even showed up." She shrugged out of my grasp and kicked her shoes off. "You never come to any of my races."

I watched her walk toward the kitchen, I knew what she was going for. "I've come to all of your races honey. Unless I was out of town touring." Out of the seven years we've been married I've missed four of her races.

"Then why don't I remember you being there?" She frowned when I grabbed her hand before it reached the fridge. "What are you doing?"

I needed to do something to keep her from getting a beer. It was the only thing I could think of. "I just thought...Since you won and all." I took her hand and placed it on my breast, I shivered as she responded, her thumb caressing my skin through my clothing. "That I'd reward you."

"Oh, so sex with you is just a reward now?" She pulled her hand away. "I'm on my period." I frowned when she opened up the fridge. "Where's my beer?" She turned to face me. "Why did you get rid of my beer?"

I took a step back when she took one toward me. "You must have finished it last night." She had to have. Even though I didn't like the fact that she drank, I would never dump out what was unopened.

It was like she didn't hear me. "I asked you why you got rid of my beer!" Her voice rose as she grabbed my arms.

"I didn't!" Tears started falling from my eyes when I felt my back hit the wall.

"Why are you such a coward Michiru?" She backhanded me. Her hand hit me in such a way that her ring dug into my skin near my lip. "I'm going out." She walked away from me. I watched her grab her car keys, slide on her shoes, and slam the door behind her. I was there, curled up on the floor, crying.

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I accepted the small cup of tea that was offered to me. My lip was swollen and the surrounding skin was bruised. "Thank you for coming to get me Setsuna." I felt ashamed for what Haruka had done. Like somehow this was all my fault.

"Anytime Michiru. You at least left her a note that you're staying here for a few days, right?" She sat on the sofa opposite of me.

I nodded at her. I did leave a note. It was a short one though. "Why did she hit me Setsuna? What did I ever do to her?" I couldn't hold back my tears anymore, they finally flowed freely.

"This isn't your fault, people sometimes change over time."

She was showing no signs of this before her wreck. "She never even yelled at me like this before. Not even when she drank last time." I pulled a tissue from the box to wipe my eyes. "It's got to be the accident."

"The doctor said she suffered major head trauma right?" I nodded. "Call the doctor about this, he'll probably want to send her for a CT scan."

"What do you mean?" I sat the cup on the table.

"With a massive head trauma, it can cause bleeding. Bleeding would mean pressure on the brain which would cause more damage. You see where I'm going?" I nodded.

Maybe she was right. I'll have to call Haruka's doctor in the morning to see what he recommends. I can only hope that he'll have an answer to her behavior.

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I took a deep breath as I dialed the number from the phonebook for Haruka's doctor. I waited several rings before a receptionist finally picked up the phone. I explained to her who I was and what I needed. I couldn't help but to grumble when she placed me on hold to get the doctor.

"Mrs. Tenou, how is everything with Haruka?" His voice rang through the receiver.

I frowned, I knew it was going to be a long conversation with him. "Not very well Dr. Gayamashi." I took a deep breath. "Haruka's been more aggressive then she usually is. More angry...and more violent."

"What has she been doing?" I could hear him rustling through papers, probably taking notes.

"She's having a problem remembering who I am too." I sat there, on Setsuna's sofa explaining everything to him. About her forgetfulness, her anger, the fact that she's drinking again as if she never quit. I was in tears when I told him how she hit me.

"And you said none of this happened before her wreck right?"

"No, she wasn't drinking, she did get angry, but never to the point of hurting me. And she never forgot anything that I told her."

"It sounds like there may be more problems than we anticipated. I'm going to transfer you back to the receptionist who will help you make an appointment for next week for her to get a CT scan."

"What if I can't get her to come in?" The realization hit me, she won't willingly go in.

"You said she can't remember anything? Use that to your advantage to get her in, tell her it's just a follow up appointment from the wreck. That should work."

I thanked him before he sent me back up to talk to a receptionist. Hopefully I will be able to trick her into thinking it's just a follow-up appointment.

_I returned home to her at the end of the week. And just as I had expected, she didn't remember hitting me. She didn't even remember who I was again. All she knew was that I was the woman in the pictures that were scattered throughout the house._

_Thankfully, by the time I had returned home there was no evidence of my injury. I remember not being in the mood to explain everything to her. Every day I have to tell her things, things that shouldn't need to be repeated._

_I told her about her appointment in a few days and she just blankly stared at me. I told her that it was just her follow-up to make sure everything was healing and she only nodded. It did work, just as the Dr. had said it would._

_Don't worry Haruka. I'll always be by your side. Regardless of what else may happen to you. I'll always love you._


End file.
